


only fools rush in

by monarchs



Category: The Social Network (2010)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Banter, Bickering, Comeplay, Condoms, Demisexuality, Financial Issues, Halloween Costumes, Harvard Era, Identity Reveal, Implied Mpreg, Knotting, M/M, Royalty, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-01-22 16:37:49
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21305210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monarchs/pseuds/monarchs
Summary: Mark is an Omega who gets by on a scholarship at Harvard University. Eduardo is an Alpha with a secret identity. They bicker, fight, and make up constantly, but feelings get complicated after sex. Even more so when a condom rips.
Relationships: Eduardo Saverin/Mark Zuckerberg
Comments: 67
Kudos: 153





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Haha, so @sundays is doing this prompt... well, so am I. 
> 
> Basically fill #2 for [this prompt](https://tsnkinks.dreamwidth.org/1679.html?thread=22671#cmt22671) on the [2019 TSN kinkmeme](https://tsnkinks.dreamwidth.org/). Check out @sundays's fill [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21140999).
> 
> Also it's actually... my prompt. De-anon-ing. Ah-ha. Ha. Bet you didn't see that coming. 
> 
> Rated E for future chapters. Title from The King's _Can't Help Falling in Love_.
> 
> I have edited and remastered this fic on **February 18, 2020**. Update your .pdfs and .epubs, my friends.
> 
> Also, an ongoing Chinese translation by comices (on AO3) is now available at the following links:
> 
> AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22772536  
LOF: http://comices.lofter.com/post/1dab56ad_1c80a1616  
随缘居： http://mtslash.me/thread-306952-1-1.html
> 
> Have fun!

It was a sunny October day when Mark followed the queue of sick students into the HUHS at 8:30AM on the dot. When the nurse at the counter asked what he was there for, he gave her a hesitant and shifty look before saying, "I have an appointment with my physician." 

Mark hated his physician. He'd really rather not have to see her if he could help it, but somehow things like contraceptives needed middlemen. 

He was given a sort of nod, then the nurse asked for his student ID, told him to head straight to the sixth floor and wait to be called. He did as he was told, and when he arrived at the waiting room, he stepped away and stood in a corner, unwilling to sit down where dozens of people coughing up their breakfast out the wrong pipe.

Dustin had described quite lucidly that there would be a bowl of free condoms at the counter there, next to the pamphlets on secondary genders. But Halloween was in three weeks, so they replaced the condoms with cheap dollar-coin chocolates covered in spider-webs instead. It was fucking ludicrous. They were college students at Harvard University, not impoverished children from some nameless public primary school.

Mark took out his Nokia phone to check the time. It was 9:20 already. He considered sending Eduardo a text message for two seconds (was it worth the ten cents?) but decided against it. He put away his phone, and proceeded to scowl deeply at the other students, mentally coming up with pathetic backstories to each of their stupid faces.

After scrutinizing one student so hard that the student started looking considerably bewildered, Mark took out his phone and decided to text Eduardo after all.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"Mark, are you all right?" Eduardo huffed, still panting from having seemingly run across the campus - or really, across the globe. Mark had just walked out the glass doors of Health Services, feeling peachy.

He shrugged and passed Eduardo a small paper bag as he overtook him. 

"Mar-- wait, what's this?" Eduardo said, frowning. "Are you okay?"

"Just check the bag, Wardo."

"What--" Eduardo started, but then stopped in his tracks when he opened the bag.

Mark waited for Eduardo. "Those were free. The first few are free anyways. Then they cost money, and they're not covered by my insurance."

"But--" Eduardo said, flushing up, fingers closing the bag clumsily.

"I have a problem set due tomorrow," Mark said and they started walking again, "and then I'm working on theFacebook before midterms start rolling in, and you're. You're fucking distracting. You reek of. I don't know, cinnamon? Anyways, I need to get you out of my system. We're having sex tonight. If you have plans, cancel them, if you can't cancel them, then we're fucking first thing after them, and you're going to be sorry you couldn't cancel them."

Eduardo caught up, completely flustered, and he was looking around to see if people heard what Mark had just said. "I-- we're--" he swallowed hard, "what?"

Mark stopped again, looking at Eduardo. "You actually want me to repeat that?"

Eduardo opened his mouth stupidly. "No! Right, no. You're-- I-- Okay. I'll-- I'll cancel my plans."

Eduardo stayed mostly quiet on their way to Dworkin labs, though he did lean in to smell Mark, when they were waiting for a green light at Dunster street. It was clear he was trying to see if Mark was in his heat. _Alphas_, Mark thought, rolling his eyes. 

Mark threw his bag onto the floor and logged onto the computer as soon as they walked into the empty info lab. Eduardo sat in the empty seat next to Mark, a waft of cinnamon pushing at him, and after a beat, Eduardo asked, almost mortified, "we're not using all of them, right? The cond--There's like a dozen of them-- Mark? Mark...?"

Mark shut him up with a kiss, hard but lingering. Eduardo reddened instantly. "Mark!" he said, pushing him off, the back of his hand to his mouth. He glanced nervously at the entrance of the room, but the corridor was just as empty as the lab.

Mark shrugged, then looked back at his screen, getting ready to be wired in for the rest of the day; hopefully the gesture would answer Eduardo's questions.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Mark and Eduardo met when Mark was in his freshman year and Eduardo in his sophomore year. Eduardo had only just transferred. It was a sunny day, the leaves were orange, Eduardo had on an impeccably ironed suit and this almost-timid debonair look - when Mark had biked straight into him.

He had collapsed inelegantly onto Eduardo, and the bike crashed on the sidewalk, bending one of its brake levers 90 degrees.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
"You broke my bike," Chris had said slowly, later that day, looking dumbfounded, "but you met a hot guy."

"I never said hot," Mark clarified because yeah. He didn't say that. "Only the left brake met its unfortunate demise," he added. 

Dustin was trying to suppress peals of laughter but failed prodigiously.

Chris deadpanned. "You asked for his number."

"Someone's got to pay for the brake lever," Mark said, matter-of-fact.

Dustin was on Mark's bed now, looking like he was being electrocuted with tickles. 

"What's that you've got?" Chris pointed at a white box on top of Mark's three-shelf bookcase.

It was a box of cinnamon rolls Eduardo had bought and given Mark as an apology. Mark had practically printed tire marks onto Eduardo's tie, but the guy bought him a box of cinnamon rolls. What part of Mark even screamed 'cinnamon rolls'? What an insult.

Dustin stood up and was about to open the box, but Mark swatted his hands off and then put two of his textbooks on top of it, to make a point.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Later, even after having eaten the rolls (hey, free food), the smell of cinnamon lingered in his room. And it never went away.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Eduardo wasn't in any of Mark's classes, but he was in one of Dustin's econ classes, and before they knew it, Eduardo started showing up in the suite for group studies Mark never volunteered to but was always in the sidelines of. And then before Mark knew it, Eduardo was helping Mark with algorithms for websites, and then before they both knew it, after Dustin and Chris had left to get Chinese takeout, they were on Mark's bed, kissing gently, like time was stopped and gravity reversed.

Eduardo learned by osmosis that Mark's bread-and-butter was his full-ride scholarship, and Mark appreciated that because he didn't want to explain it to anyone, especially to an Alpha, but they had a row about it anyway when Mark had scrapped up money for their first official date dinner, because he wanted to pay for it. Because, fuck, Eduardo paid for the brake lever and those stupid cinnamon rolls that first day they met, and every subsequent pizza when he was over at Kirkland, so Mark should pay for their first date because otherwise it would tip nature's scale or something and set them off in the wrong course. It didn't matter what the Alpha-Omega conventions were, neither Eduardo nor Mark were prehistorically stubborn farts, so really, Mark should be allowed to pay. 

The last thing he ever wanted to be was in debt, after all.

It had been a terrible first date. Mark had probably mocked Eduardo for being a spoiled child, and probably made fun of his parents and ancestors too, and maybe even insinuated that Eduardo slept with the waiter to get a reservation for this dinner at this fancy restaurant. Eduardo had looked furious but kept a gentleman's demeanour, which only pissed Mark off even more because that implied that he in turn wasn't a gentleman. They both stormed out of the restaurant so angry they couldn't feel the cold, but later when they'd arrive at Eliot and there was no one around, Eduardo had turned around looking desolate, and said sorry a few feet away from an orange streetlight and kissed Mark as it was starting to snow. Mark wrapped his arms around Eduardo's neck and then said a voiceless _sorry_ too, because fuck, Eduardo had looked so sad.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
From then on they took things slowly. Spring came around, and during spring break they went to New York to see if they could get people to invest in Mark's idea (the website hadn't been up yet), and it was nice, just hanging around, not really doing vapid couple-y things, just going about doing business, while also having each other's shoulder to rest on on long bus rides.

It would be a lie to say Mark didn't want more. But they'd gone almost eleven months with just kissing, falling asleep in the same bed, some fingering that one time Mark had skipped one day of suppressant pills, and a blowjob another time when Eduardo had a rut during midterm season. It was manageable and easy, and frankly an omega birth control prescription on top of alpha condoms was kind of expensive, and Mark had to save up money for server bills and a laptop and buying Eduardo things like a deck of playing cards themed after chicken.

But last month Eduardo had gone back home for some family business, and Mark had never missed anyone this much. He'd never admit it out loud, not even at the point of a gun, but he couldn't deny being distracted while working on schoolwork or thefacebook, because he kept smelling _cinnamon_, kept thinking of Eduardo.


	2. Chapter 2

"Did something happen? Mark?" Eduardo asked, when Mark sat down on Eduardo's bed.

"No," Mark said, trying to take off his hoodie, but he was more nervous than he had expected, and somehow he couldn't even get his arm to slip out of one sleeve.

"Hey," Eduardo said, stopping Mark from taking it off. "Mark, we don't need to do this. I-- if I smell of--, it doesn't mean-- I need to tell you something anyway--"

"You smelled that way since-- never mind," Mark said. "I just want to. Don't you want to?"

Eduardo nodded, frowning, but then kissing Mark on the temple. "Yeah, I want to. I've wanted you-- you don't know how bad--"

"Then I don't know what the problem is," Mark said, frowning. "There _is_ no problem."

Eduardo nodded gently. "Mark," he murmured, kissing him.

"What did you want to tell me?" Mark said.

Eduardo hesitated a little, but then it was clear he smelled something too and was taken away by it -- the way Mark only smelled fucking cinnamon all the time. Eduardo nosed along Mark's jawline, to his ear, and then Mark's hair. 

"I'll... later," Eduardo murmured.

And then they were lost in each other, and Mark's thoughts zipped into oblivion.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Eduardo had wanted to bring Mark out for a fancy dinner, but Mark refused. He didn't want some celebration for the first time they fucked. It was a puerile idea. but Eduardo wanted to make it special because he was that kind of guy.

So they compromised a bit (or mostly Eduardo did), and they ate at a restaurant down the street, and Mark paid and they walked back to Eliot side by side, the back of their hands brushing.  
  
  
  
Eduardo fumbled with the condom wrap under the dim lighting. His dick was huge, and flushed and angry, and Mark was just lying on his stomach on the bed, waiting, almost patiently, face half-buried in his pillow. He reached out and touched Eduardo's thigh, his fingers pale against Eduardo's skin, and Eduardo inhaled sharply. He leaned down to kiss Mark on the cheek, a little whiny, before pulling back and rolling on the condom. 

The towel under Mark's ass was already soaked with slick. He wasn't usually this wet, not unless he was in heat, but there he was, hot and ready. Absentmindedly he checked to see if he stained Eduardo's sheets, but Eduardo stopped him with a hand on Mark's waist, and said, "it's fine."

Mark flushed up sharply. "You like it," he said, judgemental.

Eduardo hummed and smiled against Mark's skin, fingers roaming south. Mark arched his back, closing his eyes, waited for it. But nothing happened for a while, and Mark had to open his eyes again, and Eduardo was there with his eyes closed, his cock squeezed between his body and the side of the bed, nowhere near Mark's ass.

"What's the hold up," Mark said, more than asked, though he really meant to ask. Nicely.

Eduardo opened his eyes and looked at Mark. "I don't know. I just. I guess I'm having a moment." He squeezed the skin between his eyes, clearly troubled by something.

"A moment?" Mark asked. 

"You remember when I had my rut last semester?"

"Sure."

It was mostly about Mark's lips being wrapped around Eduardo's dick.

Eduardo bit his lip and lowered his gaze. After a beat, he shook his head. "No-- never mind."

"Spit it out, Wardo," Mark said, sitting up, then regretting it because it was kind of disgusting, sitting on his own slick.

"I don't want our first time to be about you getting me out of your system," Eduardo said, sitting back awkwardly, his cock just hanging out with a condom rolled on.

"We're not wasting that condom," Mark said, dismissive, but also feeling a little uncertain about what was wrong.

"See! That's what I mean-- I just--" Eduardo said, gesturing with his hands. Mark squirmed where he sat, and then Eduardo looked at him apologetically, like he regretted stepping on the brakes. "God, I really want you," he said, through grit teeth. "But not like it's... a chore."

Mark tucked his knees to his chest. "I'm not in my heat," he said.

"I know."

"You're not in your rut."

"I know."

"We're boyfriends."

Eduardo nodded with his eyes closed. "I know."

"I want you," Mark said. He meant it. And he didn't understand what was wrong, but they weren't fucking and Eduardo had that sad expression on his face.

"You want me--" Eduardo frowned, but, after a beat, seemed to understand something out of the blue, so he leaned forward to kiss Mark, and Mark felt his heart skip a beat. "Wait. You _missed_ me, didn't you?" Eduardo asked.

Mark rolled his head to the left. "Not particularly," he lied.

"I was away for a week."

"That's not long. 7 days? 170 hours give or take? I had stuff to do."

"So if I leave again tomorrow you'd be okay? Have stuff to do?"

"168 hours," Mark amended but then double took. "You're leaving tomorrow?" Mark said as he climbed onto Eduardo's lap and sat on his cock. Eduardo shook his head incredulously, laughing. Mark wrapped his arms around Eduardo's neck. "Fuck you," Mark murmured into his ear.

Eduardo laughed, holding Mark by the small of his back. They stayed like that for a bit, hugging awkwardly, bodies stuck close.

And then Mark murmured really softly, "yeah I did," into Eduardo's neck, hiding his face there.

"Did what?" Eduardo asked, just as softly.

Mark kept quiet and bobbed his head in a vague expression.

"Ah," Eduardo said, after a beat.

And then, before Mark could really say anything to clarify what he meant, Eduardo was pushing him down on the bed and leaving a trail of kisses from Mark's ear to his collar bone, making Mark whine. 

"Foreplay is overrated," Mark said, but then he hissed and dug his fingernails into Eduardo when Eduardo kissed and played with his right nipple. Mark's dick twitched shamefully, and he tried kicking at Eduardo but missed by a foot. Eduardo was laughing and holding Mark's thigh, pulling himself closer, reaching up to kiss Mark behind the ear, and Mark could only tighten his grip on Eduardo's shoulder and look away, testy but also gratified.

"If I must fight you on this subject, I will," Eduardo murmured.

"This is like the appetizers bullshit again," Mark remarked, pushing against Eduardo's touch. 

Eduardo scoffed and then looked at Mark amusedly before kissing him again.

They often fought over whether to order appetizers before main courses. There had been at at least three separate incidents where the argument got so disagreeable they ignored each other for days. The thing was, Mark always thought appetizers were overpriced and unnecessary and stupid, and Eduardo thought they were practically the natural course of life. It was hard to bridge the differences sometimes, and it really shouldn't even be a problem, but Mark. Mark didn't like owing anybody anything, and he didn't like wasting money.

Eduardo rocked into Mark experimentally; there was a burst of cinnamon, and they both groaned. The condom was still there, so it felt a little odd and sticky against Mark's hot skin, but whatever, Mark wanted more. 

Eduardo laughed against Mark's mouth, like he knew exactly what Mark was thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments would make my day!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sexual content ahead.

Mark had received blowjobs before, but Eduardo was something else. Eduardo worshipped Mark's cock, lavished it with wordless praise, nosed it, kissed it, let his tongue twirl under the head, down and up the underside, lapping the slit, sucking at it obscenely, humming when he had a mouthful of Mark, making these pornographic noises people would make in a gourmet food show or something, after a spoonful of heaven. And Mark watched with burning cheeks, the bed sheets in his fists, his toes curled at the edge of the bed, shuddering every other second, barely able to contain himself.

"Wardo, can't-- I can't--" Mark hissed. He was completely incoherent. He was going to come. Eduardo hadn't even fingered him yet and he was going to come like an Omega in heat. God. He was going to come, and Eduardo had to stop and fuck him or. _Fuck_.

"Shh-- you can," Eduardo said, and he started fingering Mark, two fingers slipping in with ease, curling gently. Mark could feel his hole slick up even more with every thrust, and the sounds Eduardo's fingers made - God, Mark was not going to beg or moan. He didn't really like being loud and vocal during sex, it was the most embarrassing thing he could imagine, but right now he was on the verge of doing so. Eduardo smelled so fucking good too, Mark's mind was fogging up.

"No, Wardo, stop--" Mark said, pushing against Eduardo's shoulder, his other hand reaching out to the nightstand, and Eduardo stopped immediately.

"Bad?" he asked, worried.

"Abominable," Mark huffed, almost indignant.

Eduardo scoffed and gave Mark a look, before wiggling his fingers inside Mark, and licking a slow long stripe up his cock. "Really?" Eduardo murmured against it, playful.

Mark pushed him off. "You got to get on with the program," he murmured, and after a pause, said, with some sense of conviction, "I want you to knot me."

Eduardo tensed, and his dick twitched. Mark leaned down and kissed Eduardo, leaving a quiet _please_ and then a soft _I need you_ against the corner of his mouth.

And it was all it took for Eduardo to climb up Mark, kiss the daylights out of him, and line them up for the main course.  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
Eduardo got quieter. He had closed his eyes just as he sank into Mark, and frowned all the while, like it was too much for him, like it was everything he wanted, and more. His fingers were firm but also soft on Mark's waist. 

It was nice.

Eduardo was slow. Mark had to push down to get more, but Eduardo held him tight and breathed against his neck, and it was hard not to allow Eduardo set the pace, because Mark could barely process anything else other than pleasure and happiness and cinnamon and a sense of security and even just sheer bliss. Stupid things like that. 

For a while, there was only the sound of skin against skin, and the low creaking of the bed frame, and Mark's voiceless gasps. 

But then Eduardo leaned down to kiss Mark, soft and gentle and desperate, and then Mark was coming, and shortly after Eduardo was too.

It was the best feeling Mark had ever known. 

He'd never given sex much thought before, thought it was primal and tedious, but this feeling - this feeling of utter completion - was a lot like all those moments when he made people smile with his work (the neighbour's kids when they played a computer game he'd designed, or his family when they discovered they could talk through the computer without leaving their rooms, or when Eduardo had been impressed by theFacebook, had been so proud of Mark).  
  
  
  
Good feelings and memories rushed through, like film on a screen, one after the other. Mark relaxed his shoulders, and closed his eyes.  
  
  
  
Eduardo didn't knot him. He slid out and tied the condom. It was like Eduardo, to be so uncertain about these things, to be thoughtful and careful and considering, that Mark didn't even bother being angry. He indulged in the after-glow, slept comfortably against Eduardo's frame for a while, before turning around and bumping noses with Eduardo and whispering, "hey, can you go another round?" 

Eduardo flushed up, eyes looking down and then up, at nowhere in particular. "I--"

"I can suck you off," Mark offered, nonchalant, licking his lips slowly. The effect of that on Eduardo was immediate and visible.

"Wow," Eduardo said, "where did you hide this side of you for eleven months?"

"I was saving up for the servers," Mark said, shrugging.

"Aren't I paying for them?"

"Look: the more money, the merrier."

"What a credo."

"It's an all-purpose philosophy. Do you want the blowjob or not?"

Eduardo scoffed. "Give me a jiffy, will you."

"No one says jiffy."

"Well, I do."

"That makes you prehistoric."

"Shut up!" Eduardo said, laughing.

Mark smiled. "You know how to make me."

And Eduardo laughed harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Leave a comment if you enjoyed this?


	4. Chapter 4

The second time they came, Mark's face was buried in Eduardo's pillow, and his mind was filled with Eduardo, and he thought of that time Eduardo collapsed on Mark's bed after one of his midterms, saying how he liked the smell of Mark's sheets. Mark had said it was the smell of cheap laundry detergent that was on sale (buy one get one free) and Eduardo had said, _Mark, you smell like home_, which made Mark bite his lower lip and stare, feeling overwhelmed with something he'd never felt before.

It was nice. The sex. Fucking nice, which was an understatement, but Mark didn't know how else to explain what he felt, just like that time when Eduardo said the thing about Mark smelling like home. 

Maybe it was something between peace and happiness. Maybe it was a mix of both. Maybe it was just a feeling of belonging, of being lov--

Eduardo rested against Mark's back, panting as he came down slowly from the climax, kissing Mark's spine when his breath evened out. 

This time they agreed for Eduardo to knot him, and so they tried to get comfortable as Eduardo's dick grew inside Mark. 

"You're big," Mark groaned, frowning, trying to loosen up and relax.

"Sorry," Eduardo said, leaving a kiss on Mark's shoulder blade.

"Why are you apologizing?" Mark said, wiggling his ass a bit to accommodate the knot better, steadying himself on the bed, turning his head a little to peck Eduardo back on the corner of his lips. "Some people would kill for a big alpha dick."

"I--" Eduardo started, but ended up laughing against Mark's cheek. "God, Mark," he said, wrapping his arms around him. 

"Can we lie down though?" Mark said, feeling a little tired and sore. "My arms are going to cramp."

"Yeah-- sure--" Eduardo said, and they lay down, Eduardo hugging Mark from behind.

"We should have done it face-to-face. It's a pain to kiss while spooning," Mark said.

"Yeah," Eduardo murmured, sounding sleepy. "I would have liked kissing."

"I know." Mark felt sleepy too, which was a rare feeling, for him.

They stayed quiet for a while, and Mark listened to the in-and-out of Eduardo's breath against his neck. He wondered idly why they hadn't done this earlier, and wondered vaguely if Eduardo had had to hold back, for eleven months.

Alphas weren't great at abstinence, but it seemed like it was part of Eduardo's nature, practically, to wait for his Omega. To wait for Mark. 

The thought made Mark feel mildly mortified, so he tried to think of something else, like thefacebook, and a poking feature Dustin wanted to implement eons ago, but after only a few strings of code marqueeing through his mind, he was thinking about cinnamon rolls again, and that day Mark had first met Eduardo, him on top of Eduardo, on the sidewalk at the intercross of John F. Kennedy Street and Memorial.

Mark would have dozed off thinking softly of that day if Eduardo hadn't tensed up so suddenly behind him.

"Mark--"

"What," Mark snapped, not bothering to open his eyes.

"Shit," Eduardo said under his breath. "Shit, shit. Shit--"

Mark slowly blinked awake and turned a little. "What?"

"The condom--"

Mark only just realized Eduardo had retracted his dick from his ass.

He also just realized Eduardo had two fingers up his ass too.

"The fuck are you--" Mark hissed sharply as Eduardo's fingers rubbed against Mark's prostate. "What..."

"Shit," Eduardo said again, and it was clear now that he was panicking.

Mark blinked again, trying to make sense out of what was going on.

"The condom--" Eduardo started again, but it was really hard for Mark to focus, especially when Eduardo decided, out of nowhere, to _rim_ him.

Mark sort of pushed him off. "I'm not wholly opposed to more, but," he said, frowning at Eduardo. "I'd like to sleep. Don't you always want me to sleep?"

Eduardo cut him off, scowling. "Mark, the condom ripped."

Mark froze, then sat up straight, and that was when he realized the discarded condom on the bed was ripped right through the middle. He blinked a few times, and then looked down at his ass where come was dribbling out.

Eduardo had been trying to suck the come out. Which was stupid, but Eduardo did look a little panicked.

"I took birth control pills," Mark said, as evenly as he could. "I got them with the condoms. I'm not in my heat."

Eduardo bit his lower lip and nodded. "Yeah-- yeah, you're right. Chances are low, and you're male so it's lower--I don't know what-- I panicked. Sorry."

"I'll shower and clean up," Mark suggested quickly, sliding his legs to the side of the bed. 

Eduardo nodded, though he still looked concerned. "Do you need hel--"

"I'll be fine," Mark said, grabbing a towel, suddenly feeling a little light-headed.

He couldn't bring himself to say _don't worry_ though for some reason. 

It didn't feel like a good sign.

Mark closed the door behind him and turned on the hot water faucet. He looked at himself wearily in the mirror before averting his gaze, staring down at the sink instead.  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
He could get MO morning-after pills, Mark thought. Chances would go down to 0.5 or something. He wasn't sure about the numbers. He remembered the prices for Plan Bs but not the actual numbers. MO Plan Bs cost 27.99 bucks at Walmart, which was around 9 bucks more expensive than the FO, 11 bucks more expensive than the FB, about triple the expense of a decent meal.

"Mark?" Eduardo murmured.

It was morning. Mark hadn't slept well.

"Yeah?"

"I--I'm sorry. I didn't--" Eduardo sounded like he hadn't slept well too.

"I misjudged your dick size, it's fine," Mark said. He'd gotten Ls instead of XLs. He turned around and pecked Eduardo on the cheek.

"I don't-- I used to-- I--" Eduardo frowned. 

"It was really good," Mark said.

"What?" 

"The sex," Mark responded, watching Eduardo sleepily. "It was really good."

"You liked it?"

"Hmm." Mark shrugged, and the sheets rustled with him. He slid his foot and hooked it around Eduardo's leg.

"It wasn't... how did you put it? Abominable?" Eduardo was relaxing, and smiling sheepishly.

"That's indelicate," Mark teased. "I'd never say that."

Eduardo gave him a soft expression. Mark averted his gaze, and saw that he only had half an hour before his morning class. Which started at ten.

"Shit," Mark said. Eduardo followed his gaze and caught on. 

"I'll walk with you," Eduardo offered promptly.

Mark looked at Eduardo for a moment, pensive. He wanted to go to the Walgreens that was half an hour walk from Eliot, to get some morning-after pills. If he remembered correctly, they were only about 2 dollars more than Walmart, which would have basically been the bus fare to and from Walmart anyways. He would have to skip today's lunch and supper and this forthcoming morning class, but it was doable - he had done it before, for server costs. It would be fine.

"I'm not a child, Wardo. Get some sleep," Mark said, pulling his pillow over Eduardo before getting out of bed, and looking for his shorts. His back felt a little sore, but a few stretches should do. 

"But I want to," Eduardo said, sitting up.

"Aww, your Alpha is showing, it's cute," Mark said flatly. 

"Shut up!"

Mark wriggled into his hoodie, grabbed his bag and swung it over his shoulder. Eduardo was hopping around trying to get his pants on quickly.

"Hey, wait!" Eduardo said.

Mark didn't, not really. He opened the door and walked out, putting his hood on. Eduardo came out soon after.

"Mark, is everything--"

"Of course," Mark cut off. "Everything's fine."

Eduardo grabbed for Mark's arm. "Mark?"

"What?" Mark turned around abruptly, and Eduardo had his hands up in the air. God, Eduardo looked really confused, it sort of hurt. Mark looked away.

"You're..." Eduardo shoved his hands into his pockets, looking around the empty hall. "You're not going to class, are you?"

Mark looked back at Eduardo, eyed him, and then shook his head.

"You're..." Eduardo looked down, and Mark really didn't like this feeling much, lying to Eduardo.

"I can ace that class without attending. No big deal," Mark found himself saying.

"Where are you going then?"

"Walgreens," Mark said, scowling.

Eduardo froze for a split second, but then he quickly said, "I'm paying."

Mark frowned deeper. "How did you--"

"If you don't want me to go with you, that's fine, but." Eduardo was looking through his pocket for his wallet. Mark shifted on his feet. He didn't want it, he didn't want it, he didn't want it. "Don't fight me on this," Eduardo said, "please." He put several bills (too many) into Mark's hoodie pocket, his fingers sliding against Mark's, his eyes searching Mark's.

Mark glanced back to see if there was anyone around. The hallway was as empty as it had been when Mark had first stepped into it.

He turned back and sighed and then grabbed Eduardo by the hem of his shirt. "You can come," he murmured.

Eduardo exhaled heavily, looking really relieved. He was about to lean down to kiss Mark, but two students were coming up the stairs, so he pulled back. Their steps were loud across the hall.

"She said she wouldn't test us on chapter four," one of the students whined. "Fucking bitch."

"Yeah. I flunked that one, for sure. Fuck, shouldn't have had to wake up this early for it in the first place."

Mark watched Eduardo watch the students. When they passed, Mark blinked a few times, gave Eduardo a look, before going down from where the students had passed, feeling Eduardo follow him quietly, closely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All and any comments are very much appreciated! I would love to know what you think. Thank you so much for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have officially finished this fic (12 chapters in total), and will be posting updates every 4 to 5 days, with the last update due on Christmas Eve. Hope you enjoy!

_If taken within 24 hours, MOlng reduces risks of pregnancy by up to 81%._, Mark read from the back of the box.

Eduardo was in the next aisle, shopping idly, but Mark could smell him (was it a bad sign that all he could smell was cinnamon?), could practically feel him too, and it was mildly distracting. 

"There's a Halloween sale for those," a shelf-stocker said offhandedly. Mark flinched a little.

She looked familiar. He had seen her somewhere before. Probably a BU girl with a boyfriend in one of those inane final clubs.

"What has morning-after pills got to do with Halloween?" Mark deadpanned.

The shelf-stocker sighed. "That's what I told the manager. The baby section in the next aisle is also on sale-- oh," she blinked at the box Mark was holding, and then bit her lower lip, looking at him up and down, clearly judging his looks, like she couldn't believe he of all people got laid. "Well, whatever." She picked up a box of Johnson's and walked into the next row.

Mark raised an eyebrow and watched her go.

He placed the box of Plan Bs back and took the box right behind it, checking the date as he walked to Eduardo.

Eduardo had a wolf muzzle mask on from the Halloween section, which looked silly on him, considering his nicely ironed shirt and expensive wool pants. But what made Mark stop in his tracks, was what Eduardo was holding in his hands.

It was a baby teddy bear. And Eduardo was standing in the baby section, right in front of blue and pink pacifiers.

Eduardo hadn't noticed him yet, so Mark fiddled with the box, wondering if he should say something. He looked around, and stared at the shelf-stocker fixing one of the spiderweb decorations.

"Mark?"

Mark turned around. Eduardo was looking at him now. Mark made a small gesture with his head, and Eduardo walked over. He had placed the toy back, and his hands were in his pockets.

"You have something on your nose," Mark said.

Eduardo laughed, touching and adjusting his mask, and Mark smiled briefly, before Eduardo looked down at the box of morning-after pills in Mark's hands.

"Need anything else?" Eduardo asked, gently.

Mark glanced at the pregnancy test things over Eduardo's shoulder, but shook his head.

They went to the counter, but Eduardo stood at the Halloween display a few feet to the right. Mark put the box on the counter and watched Eduardo. Eduardo took off his muzzle and placed it on one of the jack-o-lanterns.

The box was 24.56 after taxes and the Halloween discount. Mark paid without looking up at the clerk.

When they walked out of the store one after the other, Mark made a move to give back the change, but Eduardo wouldn't have it.

"Mark, don't be ridiculous, keep the money."

"No," Mark said, firmly.

Eduardo was frowning when he turned to look at Mark. "Why do we keep fighting about this kind of stuff?"

"Because you refuse to--" Mark started.

"--refuse to stop caring about you?"

Mark eyed Eduardo angrily. "--refuse to stop calling attention to the fact that I'm poor and you're spoiled rich."

Eduardo looked angry too now. "I care about you," he said, hotly. 

Mark stared hard at Eduardo. "I'll pay you back the 24.56 too."

"We're in a relationship, Mark. We're not a bank transaction--"

"Well, you don't want anyone to know about said relationship."

"Chris and Dustin know!"

"And everyone else is none the wiser."

"Mark--"

"You know, I don't mind, not really," Mark said. "I can put up with it. I know what it'll mean to your father, or something. But I can't-- I can't let you pay for the servers too. And my almost-daily meals. And this-- these-- _bare necessities_." 

"Almost daily?" Eduardo's eyes widened.

Mark walked faster, but Eduardo quickened his pace too. "Mark!" he barked.

"I'm sorry I said the thing about you being spoiled rich. That was insensitive. I know you make most of your money. I just--"

"Mark!" Eduardo was holding him by the shoulders now. They were still in public, but there wasn't really anyone around, or if there were any, no one was paying them much attention.

"Mark, I know you didn't mean it," Eduardo said. "Don't apologize for that."

Mark stared down at their feet.

"Mark, please look at me."

Mark looked up hesitantly.

It felt like that night after their first date, all over again.

"Just give me a little time," Eduardo said, weary.

Mark nodded gently. "Okay."

They held hands for a brief moment, like it was some symbol of truce, though Eduardo did hold onto it tighter than usual and didn't retract when someone passed them by.

They started walking back.

"Are you dressing up for Halloween?" Eduardo asked, out of the blue, as they walked by posters for Halloween events on campus.

"No."

"Aww," Eduardo said. "I would have really liked that."

"What do you see me dressed as?" Mark asked, out of curiosity than anything else.

Eduardo flushed up, and then sort of ducked his head dramatically when he almost ran into a low branch.

"I um-- nothing in particular. I just-- wouldn't you want to check out the Halloween events?"

"We're students of Harvard," Mark said.

Eduardo looked at him incredulously. "That's your entire argument?"

Mark shrugged. "Isn't it inane to invest money on an itchy polyester costume you'd only wear once in your life?"

"I heard there's free wine at these events. You know - red wine, to like represent blood or something?"

"I don't have that kink," Mark deadpanned.

"Come on, Mark, I'd really like to go. Dressed up. Together. It'd be nice. We can laugh it off when we grow old and wrinkly."

Mark snorted.

"Look, you could borrow like, cat ears from Christy or something."

"If you want to fuck me with cat ears on, you could just say so," Mark murmured.

Eduardo scoffed. "I just want to have a good time with my boyfriend on Halloween, Jesus, Mark."

"You just want me in cat ears."

Eduardo gave him a soft expression. "No, I--" Eduardo started, and then he was looking down at their feet. "I just want you."

Mark stayed quiet.

He supposed he could get Christy to lend him cat ears or something. And he could just put anything on. A hoodie, shorts, his usual. Did he need a cat tail too? 

"What are you going as?" Mark asked.

Eduardo smiled gently, and then put his hand at the small of Mark's back. "It'll be a surprise. Maybe that'll motivate you to come."

Mark rolled his eyes. "If you're trying to get me to say something cliché about curiosity and cats, it's not working."

"Worth a try," Eduardo said.

Mark smiled briefly, and they walked back together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! All and any comments will be very very loved!


	6. Chapter 6

"I got my costume yesterday," Eduardo said. He was on Mark's bed, his back against the headboard cushioned by Mark's pillows, and an econ textbook open in his lap. 

Mark continued typing on Eduardo's laptop, pretending momentarily that he didn't hear him. 

Mark hadn't _forgotten_ about Halloween, not really, but he had been hoping Eduardo would. There was something about the prospect of attending a party that made Mark... not want to think about it at all.

Mark's fingers paused on the keyboard.

Mark _would_ wear cat ears for Eduardo though, he thought. That in itself wasn't the problem. Christy already agreed to lend him the 'costume' too. She had the whole kit. Ears and tail, a collar with a bell, and black stockings (which Mark wasn't wearing). 

Eduardo had said the Halloween event was free too.

Money wasn't the problem. So what was?

Perhaps the whole thing was sort of ridiculous. And, well, Mark wasn't all that great at social things. 

In fact, he was atrocious at social things, and he would much rather stay at Eliot and kiss and fuck Eduardo like there was no tomorrow because in any given world, that would be the far more interesting and appealing agenda.

"Mark?" Eduardo bit at his lower lip, and that distracted Mark for a moment. Mark turned back and scowled at Eduardo, and Eduardo sort of shrank into Mark's pillows.

"What?" Mark said, gruff.

"Well, I said I got my costu--"

"Yes, congratulations, I'm relieved you didn't get lost on your way to and from Walmart, or something."

Eduardo sighed. It was clear as daylight that he hadn't bought his costume at Walmart, but he didn't say anything.

Mark, on the other hand, had gone to Walmart just the day before, for pregnancy test sticks. They were mostly inexpensive, thankfully, but MO Early Tells were still a little pricier than Google had said they would be.

Just under a few hours ago, Mark had also read online that he'd need to wait until two and a half weeks from the date of intercourse to know whether he was pregnant or not. Which really meant he was going to wait two and a half weeks in sheer psychological torture because ever since that night the condom ripped, he hadn't been able to think of anything else.

With everything - the birth control pills and the plan Bs, he really shouldn't have to check. But somehow it didn't stop nagging him; he couldn't sleep well because of it. He had thus decided that a pregnancy test would give him some peace of mind, and he needed that. For theFacebook. For Eduardo too. For them both. 

Two and a half weeks fell on the day after Halloween. Mark had it noted down on his otherwise blank calendar that hung right next to the mini-fridge.

"Hey, if you don't want to go, it's fine. We'll just," Eduardo was looking down and away. Mark hated it when he did that. 

"I didn't say I won't go," Mark said. 

Eduardo looked up, and then back down at his textbook. "But you don't want to go."

"I didn't say that either, Wardo, pay attention."

"Is it the money? I told you, it's free."

"We need a better dedicated Linux box running Apache with a mySQL backend," Mark said, turning back to Eduardo's laptop. "It's going to cost more."

Eduardo didn't reply, for a moment. "How much more?" he asked.

"A hundred or so," Mark turned around.

Eduardo looked for his wallet on Mark's night stand, took out two hundred and handed it over. "We should consider putting up ads."

Mark gave Eduardo's reflection on the laptop screen a sharp glare. "No."

"It doesn't need to be big--"

"No. Wait-- are you becoming poor or something?"

"_Becoming_ poor? No, I'm just--"

"Then no."

"Jesus, can you hear me out?"

"We've has this conversation about five times this semester, and the conclusion is I am right, let's not be redundant," Mark said, turning on his chair to look at Eduardo again, only to find him staring hard at the floor.

"Just tell me you'll consider it," Eduardo said, dejectedly. "It doesn't have to be now."

Mark looked away. Ads were a no-go. They made a website uncool, sketchy too, and that was the last thing Mark wanted thefacebook to be. He spent days on it. He didn't want to butcher it with something as distasteful as ads. 

But Eduardo did have a point. Mark couldn't just rely on him for server costs for forever - and Mark really couldn't owe him any more than he already did.

"Okay," he murmured, but before Eduardo's eyes could really light up in surprise at Mark's agreement to consider Eduardo's proposal, Mark added, "Christy is lending me cat ears in exchange for letting her check her ex's thefacebook page."

Eduardo's eyes widened disproportionately. "Um. That's a terrible deal?"

Mark shrugged. "I agree. She should have also thrown in another two grands. But I was feeling magnanimous."

"Wait, I can't tell if you're kidding?"

"Of course I'm kidding."

"About the privacy invasion?"

"About the two grands."

"Oh my god." Eduardo was smiling. Mark mirrored it. 

"I'm adamant about no ads," Mark said. "But I'll consider it, once we get somewhere."

"Yeah," Eduardo said, "okay."

"I don't want to fight about it anymore," Mark said.

Eduardo smiled gently. "Same."

"Can we make out now?"

Eduardo laughed.

Mark got up from his chair and joined Eduardo. He put his knee on the edge of the bed, and slid his hands towards Eduardo's. He gave Eduardo a firm look before kissing him.

"Mark," Eduardo gasped against his lips. "Shit."

"The ears are black and pink," Mark informed offhandedly.

Eduardo looked up, a little bewildered for a split second, before looking down at Mark's lips and then back up at his eyes.

Mark kissed him again. 

Their mouths opened; they let each other in. Mark pushed Eduardo against the headboard and slid his hands all over Eduardo's silk button-down, feeling Eduardo's muscles tense and relax under his touch.

"Make-up blowjob?" Mark offered. "You can come on my face." 

Eduardo flushed up instantly and stammered over what seemed like the beginning of an affirmative sentence. Mark didn't wait for it before unzipping Eduardo's jeans and digging in.

Eduardo was hard already. Mark licked the pre-come from the slit, sucked the head, and then bounced Eduardo's cock on his tongue several times before caressing it with his cheek. Eduardo was so not going to last long. Mark lapped the head once more before diving and taking in inch after inch of Eduardo down his throat, feeling smug listening to Eduardo's moans.  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  


The leaves rustled outside as they settled against each other. They stayed that way for a while, Mark's head resting against Eduardo's shoulder, their arms loosely interlinked. Eduardo had returned Mark the favour, and they were now both considerably relaxed.

"I have something to tell you," Eduardo said after a moment.

Mark looked up at him lazily. "Hmm."

Eduardo seemed solemn.

Mark blinked slowly. A strange feeling settled in his gut. For a moment, it felt like they were alone in the world.

Eduardo took a deep breath, and Mark braced for it. Whatever _it_ was.

But then a desktop notification pinged from Eduardo's laptop, and Mark left Eduardo's side almost instantly, to check what it was.

It was Dustin, and a new list of site bugs to deal with, as well as a reminder that they should open the beta version of the poking feature to the public.

Mark sat on his chair, but then, he heard Eduardo move, so he turned back.

"Can it wait?" Mark said. "I'll only be a moment."

Eduardo smiled wearily, which Mark didn't really know how to interpret, and then said, "yeah. Go ahead." 

Chris had walked in anyways, back from his midterm, looking pretty battered if not extremely exhausted. He closed the door behind him with a dull thud, greeted them both with a quick gesture and then flopped down onto his bed in a see-saw manner. 

"Brutal?" Eduardo asked. It was funny how one word could sound so polite when it wasn't in any way inherently so.

Mark started typing on the laptop.

"You should have seen the other guy," Chris said, yawning.

Eduardo shook his head, and then picked up his textbook from the floor.

"Well, it's almost my turn now," Eduardo said. He had a midterm in thirty minutes. "See you later?"

Mark looked up from his laptop, and shrugged. "Okay."

Eduardo smiled a little ruefully, before turning around and walking out the suite.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments would mean the world! Thank you for reading!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the shorter chapter... The next update will be sooner to compensate for that.

Mark woke up from his nap at his desk with a stiff back and a numb arm, which his head had been resting on for the past few hours. It was around ten in the morning, according to Chris's digital clock from the other side of the room. 

Four hours of sleep. It wasn't too bad, Mark thought, but he did feel like he needed more. He wondered idly if he could go to Eliot and crawl into Eduardo's bed and sleep more there. For a moment, he imagined Eduardo whining about Mark's cold hands and feet, all sleepy and grumpy. Imagined Eduardo's hands being warm, and his cuddles warmer, and his smiles and chuckles melting through Mark's skin.

And that was the plan, really. To sneak out and get to Eliot, rap at Eduardo's door, shuffle to Eduardo's bed, proceed to sleep on top of his boyfriend, be excessively rude about it, and listen to Eduardo groaning underneath him.  
  
  
  
The plan didn't come through, however. 

When Mark knocked on Eduardo's door, no one answered. 

Mark ground his teeth, a little testy (he hadn't expected Eduardo not to be there, so he hadn't brought his spare key), but he didn't stick around long and headed down the corridor and stairs, shrugging the cold away and keeping his hands in his pockets.  
  
  
  
Eliot had a nice library on the first floor that Mark sometimes (rarely) stayed in whenever Eduardo wasn't in his room. There was an off-white ceiling, antiquated lamps everywhere, old books, red armchairs, a rack of pamphlets and newspapers, an old letter signed by Neville Chamberlain framed and displayed for no one to admire, and one prehistoric computer, tucked in a corner, that wasn't ever occupied.

Mark sat down on the century-old chair, turned the computer on and waited for it to start up. It read ten-thirty on the clock above him when he realized he had forgotten about his elective art history class at five past ten. 

Two girls in skirts walked into the Eliot House library whispering excitedly when the library computer finally finished starting up, its screen turning blue, a white cursor appearing right in the middle.

"I'm pretty certain Novo Severn is between Spain and Portugal."

"Doesn't _Novo_ suggest it being in America? Like, the New World?"

"Can we get lunch? I'm starving."

"But... we just ate?"

"It's never too early to decide what to have for lunch."

"Right... Did you have somewhere in mind?"

"There's a Novo Severnian roast chicken place on Lowell street I've been dying to check out."

"Wasn't it Portuguese?"

"Potato, potahto."

"You just want to see the prince."

"The prince! It's all you want to talk about the whole morning. Don't be ridicu..."

They walked under an arch and their voices faded into the corner.

Mark frowned, but didn't give it much thought. Royalty at or around Harvard wasn't uncommon, and certainly not something worth debating about. 

He put his headphones on, plugged it into the computer, played the usual songs, and started working on implementing a game corner sort of feature to his website.

Eduardo would sometimes think to update or change Mark's playlist with new songs ("Mark, your songs literally give me the vertigo"), but lately it was the same songs on loop, so Mark knew each instrument, each beat, every word and note like the back of his hand, like the rhythm of his fingers tapping on the keyboard.

Which meant that he could tell when something was off with this particular song. There were soft murmurs followed by a sort of camera shutter every other beat that were never there before.

He had to pause his music to realize it wasn't part of the song, but rather, coming from outside.

Three students in the library had already moved towards the windows to look out, their book still in their hands but no longer the object of their attention.

Mark scowled at them for a moment, but suddenly got distracted recalling that he forgot his cellphone in his dorm, as well as breakfast. He logged off with a swift movement and walked towards the doorway of the library. 

Just when he was about to exit though, some foul-smelling Alpha bumped into him, which made him bump into a stand, which in turn made a pile of newspaper fall off its shelf. He bent down to pick them up, feeling irately clumsy, but then his fingers paused. He picked up the latest issue of The Crimson from the ground and read the headline.

_The Phoenix Club Prince Eduardo Saverin Now Eduardo Luis Aveiro Saverin, Crown Prince of Novo Severn_. 

Mark reread it again. 

And again.

And again.

And again.

"You should watch where you're going," the Alpha said, picking up a copy of The Crimson too.

Mark didn't bother looking at the Alpha, just looked back at the students who were at the window.

"That's him," one of them said, breath forming against the window pane. "The crown prince of Novo Severn."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments make my day! Thank you for reading, and stay tuned!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting this sooner, my internet has been wonky and completely unreliable.

_Prince Eduardo Saverin is the founder of Harvard's social network website TheFacebook alongside Omega Mark E. Zuckerberg, a sophomore on financial aid who offers sweat equity to the company._

_The nature of their relationship is yet to be known. Tyler Winklevoss, one of the founders of rival website ConnectU, comments however that "there is only ever one kind of relationship between an Alpha and an Omega"._  
  
  
  
"Hey, Mark, where've you been? Wardo's looking for you," Dustin said when Mark stepped back into the Kirkland suite.

He ignored Dustin and quickly searched his bed for his cellphone. It was under it, against the wall where the headboard was. 

Eduardo had left thirty-six messages. Most of them were asking where he was. Two of them asked whether or not Mark had read The Crimson, and the last one had said, _I'm sorry, Mark_.

"I can message him, if you want. That you're here," Dustin offered, scratching the back of his head. "Oh! He got you breakfast--" he pointed at a wrapped-up bundle on Mark's desk. It smelled and looked very much like a cinnamon roll.

Mark turned his back at Dustin. He slipped his cellphone into his pocket and grabbed a jacket before heading back out.

"Hey, hey, where're you going-- is it really efficient if you go after him? Shouldn't you stay in one place? Wait for him to get to you? Less trouble for you?"

Mark turned around, thought for a while, conceded quietly that Dustin was half-right, before pointing at the cinnamon with his chin. "You can have that."

Dustin scowled. "Dude no, that's like-- no! He bought this for you. Isn't it like a _symbol_ of your love, or something? What's the word-- token? I'm not going to eat your token of love! That's against fundamental physics laws. It might give me serious digestion problems."

Mark stared at the cinnamon roll. God, he really wished he hated cinnamon. Or was allergic to them.

"We can talk about Farmville while we wait," Dustin said, sitting down gingerly on the couch.

"No," Mark replied curtly.

Dustin stood back up, nervous. "Okay. Let's not talk about Farmville while we wait."

"It's not a token of--" Mark started, but then quickly decided he really would rather not say the L word if he could help it.

Dustin gave Mark a sympathetic look, but before Mark could snap at him for it, Eduardo walked in through the doorway.

"Mark!" Eduardo gasped, panting like he had just been chased by rabid dogs.

"All righty. It's my cue to go." Dustin balanced himself on his heels before slipping out of the dorm room, closing the door behind him with an audible click.

When Eduardo was able to breathe normally again, he asked, "Mark, where were you--"

"Eliot House library," Mark answered. 

Eduardo looked a little confused. "You didn't go to class?"

"No."

"Why?"

"I forgot."

"You forgot?"

"Didn't realize it was Wednesday."

Eduardo sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair. "Did you read--"

"Yes," Mark said.

"Oh," Eduardo replied, glum.

They stayed quiet for a while.

"I wanted to tell you--" Eduardo started saying at the same time Mark said, "this isn't an elaborate prank, right?"

Quiet again. 

"I didn't even know you read The Crimson. Or Boston Herald. Or the Globe. Or the Gazette," Eduardo said, but then sighed. "It's not a prank," he finally added.

"I don't. Just happened to come across."

"Which did you read?" Eduardo asked wearily.

"The Crimson."

Eduardo squeezed his eyes shut. It seemed like it was the worst one out of the bunch.

"What were you doing at the Eliot library? God, you never usually go there-- I've been looking for you everywhere--"

Mark imagined Eduardo waiting at the door of his Art History class and felt a little bad.

"--and you forgot your cellphone and--"

Eduardo motioned to grab Mark's shoulders, but Mark pulled back.

Eduardo frowned. "I'm sorry, Mark. I wanted to tell you. I swear."

Mark shrugged.

"Please say something."

"Was it supposed to be a secret?"

"Yes," Eduardo said unsteadily, "though mostly it's for my own sake than for Novo Sev's." Eduardo said Novo Sev like it was his younger brother, not his country. "People treat me differently once they know who I am."

Mark looked away, pensive. "You thought I would too."

"No, Mark--"

"You thought I would end up liking you for your royal status. Or disliking you."

"No, I know you wouldn't--"

"You kept it a secret for eleven months," Mark pointed out.

"Twelve months, today," Eduardo said, gaze lowered. "Sorry."

Mark looked down too.

"It's not something I could just tell anyone." Eduardo exhaled slowly. "Besides, I'm not even _crown prince_."

Mark looked up, confused.

"Last week - or was it the week before? When I went back home--" Eduardo breathed deeply again. "I went back to confirm that I would be abdicating."

Mark frowned. 

"I--" Eduardo looked down. "It means my cousin would be heir of the throne, and he's not a Saverin - my father only has a younger sister. So my father got angry. He wants the Saverin line to go down. I think he was the one who gave The Crimson the story. He wants-- he doesn't want me to abdicate. But all I want is a normal life." Eduardo's voice broke somewhere in the last few words. "I want a normal life with you, and thefacebook, and your chicken jokes and our bickering over appetizers and kissing in computer labs."

Mark breathed deeply. 

"They suspect our relationship," Mark said, in a more concerned tone than accusatory. 

"Honestly I'm not worried about that but-- _god_ I'm-- so sorry. It wasn't fair. Thefacebook is more yours than mine too, and you're not on financial aid-- they've got it all wrong--""

"It's yours too. Thefacebook is yours too," Mark murmured. "And it's not your fault that The Crimson is incompetent and petty."

Eduardo looked at Mark like he was going to cry.

"Don't cry," Mark said.

Eduardo let out a startled laugh before wiping his cheeks quickly. "Okay," he said.

"Does your father know?" Mark asked.

"About--?"

"About us."

Eduardo shook his head. "Not explicitly?"

"That's not an answer."

Eduardo smiled sadly. "No, he doesn't know it's you. He just suspects I'm with someone."

"Are you ever going to--"

"It doesn't matter much to him," Eduardo said. "Only the royal line matters to him."

Mark shrank back a little. His hands were feeling a little cold. He gestured at Eduardo, and said, "can we hug or something? I'm cold."

Eduardo raised his eyebrows, but then nodded and grabbed Mark forward and then they were hugging and there was a burst of cinnamon, and fuck, it felt illegally good.

Eduardo held Mark tight against him, like his life depended on it, and he was burying his nose into Mark's neck. Mark arched his back and wrapped his arms around Eduardo's neck.

"For what it's worth, I really wanted to tell you," Eduardo said. "In person. At the right time--"

"I know," Mark murmured.

"I-- I just really-- I want to be with you," Eduardo said. He was crying now. Not blubbering, just tears on Mark's hoodie and his words came out a little broken.

"I know," Mark said.

"And I'm sorry about--"

"It's fine."

Mark pulled back, cupped Eduardo's cheek and then kissed him gently.

Eduardo made a pained expression. "I should have told you earlier."

Mark shrugged. "It's fine."

"Mark-- I--"

"I was looking for you, this morning," Mark cut in. "I wanted to sleep in with you."

Eduardo opened his mouth but then closed it. His expression softened.

"You weren't in your dorm."

"I was waiting at your classroom," Eduardo said. 

They pressed their foreheads together.

Mark nodded, a little heady from the cinnamon. 

"You want to sleep some? Now?" Eduardo asked, looking exhausted.

Mark looked at his bed, and then at the clock, distracted.

Eduardo kissed him. 

Mark kissed back. And they kissed. And Mark closed his eyes, walked Eduardo backwards towards his bed, hands roaming down.

And for a few moments, the world around them stopped and disappeared. For a few moments, it was just them. 

Only them.

"Happy anniversary," Eduardo whispered against Mark's lips. "Sorry again."

"Hmm," Mark said, tired.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are very much loved!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a shorter update - the next chapter should be up sooner!

When Mark woke up from the nap, Eduardo was standing at his desk, his back to Mark. 

His hair was a mess, and his shirt rumpled. He wasn't wearing pants, only black briefs. Mark stared at Eduardo's slender legs for a moment or two before getting up. He yawned, rubbed an eye with a knuckle and slid out of bed, thinking about the Crimson article and Eduardo's abdication and all the in-betweens, the things left unsaid but tacitly understood. It made Mark feel uneasy, a little, the whole prince revelation, but he couldn't quite put a finger on what exactly, only knew he didn't really want to think about it too much.

The bed sheet made a shushing noise as he moved, and Eduardo turned around. There was a frown across his face, and in his hand, a flat white box.

It was the pregnancy tests Mark had bought the other day.

"Are you--" Eduardo asked, then gestured vaguely, and then in a way that visibly communicated nervousness. "Do you-- do you have-- symptoms? Um." He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. "Should I be worried?"

Mark didn't reply for a moment. He didn't know how to answer that. 

He didn't exactly have the symptoms. Though his Omega period was running a little late (but it had always been irregular), he didn't have morning sickness, nor ghost colds, nor any urge to be bonded. He felt mostly normal and sated, if anything.

Eduardo shifted on his feet. "That's a long pause, Mark."

Mark bobbed his head. "I'll know soon."

"Soon?"

"The test only works two and a half weeks after intercourse."

Eduardo ran his hand through his hair, breathing out through his mouth. "Okay."

Mark curled his fingers into fists, feeling exponentially more nervous. He lowered his head.

Frankly, Mark was worried. He was worried because he would maybe have to make an important decision very soon. Not that he didn't know what to choose; he knew exactly what decision he'd make - he'd get an abortion, without any shadow of doubt - but it wasn't an easy thing to think about, even for him. It wasn't black and white, it wasn't one or zero. It wasn't like he'd hate having a child with Eduardo, it wasn't like he wanted to destroy whatever came out of their relationship - it was just that he didn't have the time nor money nor mental preparation to nurture another live being. And now that Eduardo was a prince, it opened a whole can of worms that Mark was not ready for.

Eduardo put the box down on Mark's desk and walked to sit down next to Mark. "Hey."

Mark shrank a little. 

"Hey," Eduardo said softly, pulling Mark into a hug, rubbing his shoulder. "I didn't mean to, you know-- I--"

"I shouldn't be worried," Mark said, feeling inexplicably like he was being choked.

"I think you have every right to be worried," Eduardo said, softly.

Mark frowned. 

"Yeah _you_ would be worried," Mark said, a little forceful, though his words came out rather monotone. "You're a prince in a secret relationship with a commoner and really the last thing you'd want is a baby with them."

Eduardo frowned. "Mark, I didn't say that--"

"You aspire to be a gentleman. Of course you wouldn't say it."

Mark wasn't sure what was getting to him. He pulled away from Eduardo abruptly.

"Mark?" Eduardo's voice was small, and he looked confused.

"It's five in the afternoon. I should work on thefacebook," Mark said. He stood up and was about to turn on Eduardo's laptop but decided against it, retracting his hand. He looked around searching for his shorts, and then his keys, and decided to forgo his phone.

Mark heard Eduardo stand up, but Mark didn't turn around. 

"It's cold outside. You should take my jacket," Eduardo said, very softly. 

"Yeah, and give The Crimson something to write about," Mark retorted. He grabbed Dustin's hoodie, though he didn't bother putting it on, not right away, anyways.

He marched to the door without looking back, and then walked out.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Mark was already halfway down the block when he realized Eduardo hadn't followed him.

But that was okay, Mark thought. Why would he anyways? There were people with cameras and microphones and tape recorders waiting to ambush him, right outside Kirkland. And Mark had made it clear that he didn't really want to be followed. 

Mark put on the hoodie, feeling cold very suddenly.

The hoodie smelled weird. Like it couldn't decide whether to smell like chocolate donuts or some barley beverage. It smelled just like Dustin, and while it wasn't bad, it wasn't good either.

And as suddenly as the cold had come to him, Mark was overcome with a strong feeling of longing.

He stopped in his tracks, looking down at the white frost on brown leaves under his feet, thinking about softer things like pillows, cinnamon and apple oatmeal, warm summer days, and Eduardo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are very loved and appreciated! I literally think about them for days! Weeks! Months! ...years...!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay in this update, life got in the way! But don't worry, this fic is Complete, so I will be updating.

Several days later, it was Halloween. Mark's professor ended class about ten minutes earlier, and the TA handed out chocolate candy from a plastic bowl. 

Mark hadn't seen Eduardo since the fight. 

It was probably better that way.

Eduardo had to deal with the press, and Mark was working on expanding thefacebook to other colleges. He had sat Chris and Dustin down and given them orders like they were in the army and then he worked on it for almost two days straight without much shuteye.

He was tired - he couldn't even feel the back of his mind, really, if he thought about it, but whatever. He had trouble falling asleep anyways because he couldn't stop thinking about cinnamon and possible pregnancies and Eduardo being so much more than Mark. Too much more than Mark.

The party was at 8PM tonight, but Mark decided that since neither of them had double-checked with the other, that the thing was off for them, and that he really didn't need to hold onto Christy's cat ears another second.

Christy had come to pick up the headpiece, but for ten minutes she did anything but that. She was chewing gum with her mouth open, checking out the suite with visible disgust, and giving Mark an incredulous look that sort of said, _you're a fucking idiot_. Mark ignored that because really, Christy's EQ wasn't all that great, given her track record, and she should just take the ears and leave him alone.

"My EQ is not lower than yours, Zuck," Christy snapped, as if she'd read Mark's mind. Mark turned back to the php script in front of him but felt mildly indignant and unsettled about it. Christy followed his gaze and looked at his screen with a bored look, scanning his code cursorily. "Okay, stop. Stop typing. Look at this shit." She gestured emphatically at the script. "What is this, Mark? God. Pull yourself together and make up with your man before you break the only thing you kind of do right."

"What?" Mark said, mildly bewildered for a moment.

Christy chewed her gum particularly loudly. "You mistyped isset, and you're missing an ampersand before getValues. That's why it won't return correctly. Reference versus values! This is elementary school shit, Zuck. What are you, a toddler? Did you just spend two hours on this? Pathetic. Where's your man?"

Mark frowned. "Don't say 'man'."

"God, you _so_ need to suck a cock," Christy said, rolling her eyes. 

"Fuck you," Mark said grumpily.

"Yeah, get someone to fuck you, that's the idea," Christy answered airily, dismissing Mark by taking her phone out.

Mark ignored her too and quietly corrected the script. It was confusing sometimes when Christy went from promising software engineer mode for a full three seconds to whatever she was, but he was going to give credit where credit was due.

"You should work for me," Mark suggested, though mostly half-heartedly and out of politeness.

"You should make up with Eduardo," Christy said as she checked her manicure.

"What?" Mark scowled.

"I don't want to work for _you_," Christy emphasized.

Mark shrugged. "Yeah, you're right, I'm not sure we'd get along. Take the ears and leave."

"I'm not taking the ears. Don't have a bag on me and I'm going straight to Alice's. We're trying to get into the Porc's party. They have a pirate theme tonight. Hey, do you like my costume?" She twirled a little. Mark hadn't even really looked at her costume, and he really couldn't care any less.

Mark frowned. "What did you come here for then?"

Christy pinched Mark's cheek and smiled. "To tell you you need to collect your man and plunder his goods like there's no tomorrow." She put the cat ears on Mark's head and then adjusted them. Mark stayed put, not sure why he was letting himself be subject to this.

"Wardo is a princ--" he started, but then stopped himself.

"Wardo is Wardo is Wardo," Christy singsonged offhandedly. She pulled back and gave Mark a look of. "And you, Zuckerboy, look absolutely killer in these."  
  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
  
It was five fifty in the afternoon. Dustin said that the weather forecast promised showers in the evening. They were starting to show in the near distance, grey clouds over grey streets and orange pumpkins. Mark looked out the window, thinking quietly about Eduardo and his weather forecast website rankings and his book on the shapes of clouds.

Mark shifted on his feet and looked back at his bed. He had finished debugging some thefacebook shit on Chris's laptop (which he absolutely abhorred because the spacebar kept double-spacing) and was now staring down at the cat ears and tail, the black tights and black hoodie Chris was lending him that were laid out on his bed.

Was he supposed to wear them now? He looked out the window again and studied the people who were walking around in MS Paint default colour costumes, thinking shit, this couldn't be more stupid.

Eduardo had said they could meet at a quarter to six, at Harvard Square, to have supper at some diner with Halloween specials before heading directly to the party, but that was from before they 'fought'.

And Eduardo hadn't texted him ever since. So Mark wasn't sure whether or not it was still on. He could only assume it wasn't, but somehow, he also seemed to want to avoid that assumption. 

Mark looked for his cellphone to double-check, but there weren't any new texts other than from Dustin, who kept asking whether Mark had seen Dustin's fake eye. 

Sat at the edge of his bed, Mark flipped the cat ears in his hand, feeling the polyester fabric with his thumb.

It wouldn't hurt to go check Harvard Square, right? He thought. 

If Eduardo was there, then cool, and if Eduardo wasn't there, then well. Que sera sera. 

Mark pulled the hoodie over himself, slipped into the tights, put the cat ears on, shoved the tail in his pocket and pulled his hood on to hide the ears, feeling mortified but also determined to see this through.

After taking a deep breath, he left the suite with nothing but his cellphone off silent, and a heart bracing for whatever was to come.  
  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
  
Eduardo wasn't there.

Of course he wouldn't be -- in fact, the moment Mark had stepped out of Kirkland, he remembered, in a way that was like being hit by a freight train, that Eliot was completely surrounded by the press and overly curious students. And it wasn't only Eliot, the rest of the campus seemed to have varying numbers of journalists and reporters, and Harvard Square was no exception - in fact, it was residence to a whole camera crew. Mark had pulled his hood over to hide his face when he passed them.

It was fucked up. Eduardo couldn't possibly come out, could he?

Maybe he was stuck at Eliot. Maybe he was stuck in his own room. He had to be - where else could he be?

Mark felt guiltier and guiltier thinking about it, but he made an abrupt U-turn and walked briskly, with intent. When he arrived at Eliot, there were people under orange streetlights on standby, and Mark hated it, hated that they were there where Mark and Eduardo had first kissed, a place that had once been deserted, that had once been theirs.

He slipped into the shadows and walked around the building, to the south side, where Eduardo's room was.

Eduardo's window was dark.

Mark shrugged his shoulders, the cold getting to him. He lowered his head, and then thought, well, if Eduardo wanted to see him, he'd have texted or called. Right?

A few minutes passed. He stood there, completely unsure what to do. His breath turned white and curled up into the night air as he shoved his hands into his pockets. 

People passed by, a Dracula and a Shrek, a Donkey and a Ham.

And Mark found his resolve break away, piece by piece, until there was nothing left except for him to go back to his dorm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments seriously make my day. I've been like really tired and sad lately so even if it's just ... one word, I swear it'll mean the world.
> 
> Viva markwardo 2k19, as always, and happy holidays!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter guys! Woo!
> 
> Thanks for sticking around so long!

Mark got himself pizza from Harvard House of Pizza after a long walk up Massachusetts Avenue. The pizza turned cold on the walk back, but he didn't care and ate quietly in his room, staring at Chris's computer. He had discarded the cat attire, thrown it carelessly under his bed, and taken out two cans of beer from the mini-fridge. 

It was 8:30PM. There was absolutely nothing to do - not after Christy had basically debugged everything there was to debug. Thefacebook was running smoothly, not a single cog out of order. Any other day Mark would have been pleased with this, but today he felt uneasy and even displeased.

In fact, Mark had never felt this empty before. And that was saying something. Especially after having consumed two people's worth of pizza, using the money he was going to treat Eduardo with, had they not fought. That wasn't his usual, and perhaps that was what sort of shocked Dustin when Dustin walked into their room in search for his bag of fake blood.

"You okay, buddy?" Dustin had said, his fake moustache bobbing up and down. "Where's your costume? Christy said--"

Mark turned around to glare at Dustin. 

"Christy didn't say anything," Dustin quickly amended, scratching his cheek with his fake claws. "But hey. Aren't you supposed to be over at the Dead Phoenix party or something? Stephanie Attis -- you have art history together-- says her friends say it's whack, as long as you can pay the door troll the toll."

"Isn't it a free event?" Mark said.

"Ah, the wise words of a naive scholarship student," Dustin said, sympathetic, before stepping onto something that squeaked. It turned out to be Dustin's lost fake eye.

Mark wrinkled his nose, narrowed his eyes, considered this new piece of information for a long moment.  
  
  
  
*  
  
  
  
Mark waded through the crowd in the hallway. Red plastic cups, witch hats, toilet paper, white masks, glow stick bracelets, glitter makeup. He was really getting sick of Halloween; it made Harvard seem like an amusement park.

When he reached Eduardo's door, he didn't hesitate or hold back. He knocked loudly, and said, "Wardo, it's me."

At first, it was quiet, which made Mark a little anxious. People weren't staring or anything, but he felt like they were. But then, there was noise coming from inside, like someone was stumbling into furniture, and then the door opened.

Eduardo's hair was sticking out in every cardinal direction, and he looked worse for wear, or on the edge of expiry, what with the sullen and almost melancholic expression on his face. He was wearing a white t-shirt and blue jeans, and while that looked good on him, it was clearly inauspicious. 

Mark looked down at the floor. How was he supposed to say anything when Eduardo looked like that?

Eduardo ran his fingers through his hair and turned away, walking into his room with his back to Mark. He then said, so softly Mark almost missed it, "close the door behind you?" 

Mark stepped in gingerly. Eduardo's room wasn't usually a mess, but it was today. There were food containers everywhere, and cups, and un-ironed clothes, and the drawers to the dresser were open and left hanging. The door clicked close behind Mark, and suddenly it was like he had just entered another world through a portal that had closed and disappeared. There was no going back. 

Eduardo sat on his bed and held his head in his hands, before sliding them down and looking up at Mark with a certain amount of dread in his eyes, like he hadn't envisioned this confrontation to happen this soon.

"You said the party was free," Mark said. Might as well get it over with.

Eduardo closed his eyes and then scoffed. "That's your main concern?"

Mark pondered it for a second. "No. Just a concern."

Eduardo gave him a sort of grateful smile before looking away. "Members of the Phoenix get a discount, and they can bring a date."

"So how much is the toll?"

"The toll?"

"The unreasonable entrance fee," Mark clarified.

"It's not unreasonable. There is free booze--"

"It's not free if you have to pay to get in."

"Are we really going to be discussing this? Just this? You came all the way here to talk to me about how unreasonable a final club party is?"

It was the easiest thing to discuss, Mark was tempted to say, but he kept mum.

"Mark. I-- I've been doing a lot of thinking and--"

"You weren't at Harvard Square at six," Mark said, looking away.

Eduardo's expression softened minutely. "I-- didn't think it was still on. You didn't message me--"

"I didn't message you to say it was cancelled either."

Eduardo looked down at his hands and laughed a little, like he was laughing at himself. "You're going to drive me insane, Mark."

"I'm sorry," Mark said.

Eduardo looked up. "What?"

"I was nervous."

Eduardo frowned. "What?"

"I shouldn't have said the thing about secret relationships," Mark answered, "or you not wanting a baby with a commoner whose financial situation is precarious, at best. It was inappropriate, and it wasn't what I really meant."

"Mark, you didn't let me speak. You stormed out on me."

Mark frowned. "I had to work on thefacebook."

"Mark!"

"I had to work on thefacebook because I wasn't prepared for that conversation."

"Okay... but you are now?"

"Not particularly, but I'm in your territory now, and frankly I want to make up because I--" Mark paused, looking for better words but finding nothing else to express what he felt. "I don't feel right without you."

Eduardo exhaled. He ran his hand through his hair again. Mark watched quietly. "Mark, I-- I'm sorry if I gave you pressure over the pregnancy tests. I was nervous too."

"Why would you be nervous? I wouldn't have kept it, you know."

"I was nervous because the first thought that came to me that day was how I really wouldn't have minded whether you kept the baby or not, assuming that you were pregnant-- wait, are you--"

"Won't know before tomorrow."

"Okay." Eduardo breathed.

"You wouldn't have minded me keeping the baby?"

"No, not at all," Eduardo said, with ease, like it was a truth, a scientific fact.

Mark looked down at the floor. "I wouldn't have kept the baby."

"Yeah, you said that just now."

"I'm not ready for one."

"I know. I understand."

"I have-- we have thefacebook." A pause. "And school." A complete afterthought.

"Yeah."

"I _would_ like a baby with you, though," Mark admitted quickly. "Maybe later -- if, if we're still... if you would still like to be with me."

Eduardo looked at him, solemn. "I want to be with you."

There was a sort of finality to his words that implied that Eduardo wanted to be with Mark for forever, and that made Mark feel a little choked up and speechless and like his heart could burst. Mark trembled, realizing that that was exactly what he wanted too. He wanted to be with Eduardo. Come hell or high water or a prince revelation and a possible unplanned pregnancy during college.

Eduardo stood up awkwardly. "Can we hug?" he asked, smiling. "I'm cold?"

Mark nodded before practically flinging himself at Eduardo, arms going around Eduardo's neck, pulling him in tight, like his life depended on it. Eduardo had taken a step back, perhaps a little shocked at how eager Mark was.

Mark then pulled back a little and leaned in so that their foreheads pressed into one another's.

"I'm going to kiss you," Mark announced, which made Eduardo laugh.

And so Mark did.

It was like a balm to a wound. He kissed Eduardo like it was simultaneously the first and the last time. That was to say, it had the timidness of a first time and the passion of a last, even though the kiss was technically neither the first nor the last. Mark did not intend it to be a last one, anyways. Really didn't. But this felt like a lifeline, like he was kissing at the end of the world, kissing until there was nothing left but that.

Eduardo laughed against Mark's mouth, and had to back out. He held Mark around the waist and even sort of bent Mark down. "Hold on, need to breathe," he said, though only a second before plunging back in for more.

Mark let himself arch back, wrapping his arms around Eduardo's neck.

"Kind of missed you," Mark said, at some point during the kisses.

"I know," Eduardo answered against his lips. "Me, too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays! I'm going to update the last chapter on Jan 1 2020! 
> 
> Let me know your thoughts?? I'd seriously love to hear them...


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020!!!!
> 
> This is the last chapter of this fic. It's a little bit short, but I hope it wraps up well?

They were at 72 Mt. Auburn Street, standing outside on the sidewalk, staring up at the building in front of them that frankly looked like any ordinary old building from the 18th century with its red doors and auburn bricks.

Mark had his cat ears on under his hood, as well as the tail, and Eduardo was in a Spider-man costume. It was the only way to hide Eduardo's face from the press. (He had prepared a trout costume otherwise to match Mark's feline attire). 

(Mark was sort of glad Eduardo chose the Spider-man suit over the trout costume. Really.)

He kept close to Eduardo when they approached the door man with the guest list. They were let in with just their initials - Eduardo said it was prepared in advance that way so that his arrival wouldn't trigger a whole battalion of paparazzi. Three minutes later, they were in the middle of the party floor and were just staring at each other bashfully, not swaying to the music at all.

Mark looked away and stared at the other people. There were dancing zombies, one panda, girls in racy clothes that was neither this nor that. 

"This is--" he started.

"Stupid, I know," Eduardo said, evidently nervous. "I know," he said again, lowering his head.

"But you're here. It's not all that bad," Mark said. It was hard to tell Eduardo's expression with the mask on, but Eduardo did relax his shoulders, which seemed like a good sign.

He wanted to hold Eduardo's hand. Just curl their pinkies together maybe. 

But they couldn't. It was too... public? Right? Even if half of these people were brainless.

But, to Mark's surprise, Eduardo took off his mask and leaned in, pressing their foreheads together.

"What--" Mark started.

"I wanted to tell you here. I was prepared to. I -- "

"Tell me what?" 

"That I was a prince, and that I..."

Mark lowered his gaze to Eduardo's lips but looked back up right after. Eduardo was looking down too. He looked nice this way. Soft, gentle. 

"And that I," Eduardo started again, took another deep breath before closing his eyes altogether. "That I love you."

Mark froze. 

"I..." Mark blinked.

"You don't need to say it back now," Eduardo hastened to say. "You don't need to say it back ever-- god, what was I-- that was embarrassing--"

"I love you too," Mark said, so softly even he could barely hear himself. 

He wondered if he should repeat it. The music was loud, and maybe--

But Eduardo heard it. Crystal clear. 

He was staring at Mark like Mark was all that he ever wanted.

Which couldn't possibly be true, because Mark was poor, his father was a dentist and not the Duke of anywhere except maybe a tiny clinic. And Mark was a pain to be with. And they bickered all the time.

And Mark wasn't even pretty to look at. He was pale, thin, wobbly, and had curly hair and small ears and a perpetual frown.

Why would he be anything anyone ever wanted?

"You said it," Eduardo said.

Mark frowned. "Yes, pay attention, Wardo." 

Eduardo chuckled softly, just a light shake in his shoulders, a smile that could stop the world.

Eduardo pulled Mark closer to him by the waist.

And oh god, there were people all around, and they were starting to stare, they were looking, they were watching. What was Eduardo doing?

But Mark's body was pliant against Eduardo's, calm even, as if it knew better than Mark that everything was going to be all right, everything was where they should be.

"Isn't that Eduardo Saverin?" someone said.

"The prince?"

"Yeah-- and is that--"

"The Omega mentioned in the papers!"

"What's his name. _Mike_ Zuckerberg?"

At that, both Mark and Eduardo smiled, ear to ear. 

"They're talking," Mark said.

"Yeah. It's okay," Eduardo said, in a way that was absolutely Eduardo - in a way that made Mark think of their times together, every word Eduardo had ever said to Mark.

They were so painfully close now, their breaths were touching.

"You don't have to do this," Mark said, growing steadily nervous.

"I want to."

"But--" Mark lowered his gaze. 

And Eduardo leaned in, closed the gap and kissed Mark.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
It was funny how the crowd disappeared. How time came to a halt. How all laws of physics stopped their course. How Mark felt like he was weightless in a gravity-free zone.

And it was right, and Eduardo was so good, and his touches warm.

And Mark thought about their trips to New York, thought about cinnamon rolls in white pastry boxes tied up with string, thought about kissing Eduardo under orange streetlights, thought about them fighting over appetizers, thought about them falling asleep together after a fight.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
And for the first time in his life, Mark didn't feel poor anymore.  
  
  
  
(Only felt loved. Only felt like he was brimming with it.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's it! That's the end! Thank you so much for reading!  
Comments would make my day and start up a great year...!
> 
> Happy New Year! May the Markwardo still be with us!  
*confetti*


End file.
